OpenTable tests mobile payment system in San Francisco

OpenTable is testing a mobile payment system in San Francisco wherein diners can pay for their meal directly from their phones. The future is so here.

OpenTable — which just gobbled up personalized restaurant recommendations app Ness for $17.3 million today — explains a bit more about the mobile payment pilot program in a blog post:

Rather than waiting for a check or, worse yet, being late for the theater, with the new OpenTable payments feature, you will be able to tap to pay – and be on your way … Simply add a credit card in the OpenTable iPhone app before your meal and you’ll be able to view and pay your check. There’s no scanning or bar codes involved.